Turnabout
by Thelios the Phoenix
Summary: Lanceworth Novva. Aside from his massive intellect, he possesses no extraordinary characteristics. So, why the hell would the Space Pirates want him dead? Well, as you will soon learn, nothing is as it seems. Change is inevitable, and those who aren't ready to embrace it will fall. A complete turnabout is about to occur, and whether for better or for worse - is up to him.


Chapter One: Introductions

 **Hello, everyone! Welcome to the first chapter of my Metroid Fanfiction, Turnabout. Now, this isn't the original first chapter. I sort of rushed it, so I remade it via Microsoft Word for mobile, which I will now use for the rest of the story, as it makes the entire process of formatting, writing, and editing much easier. Now, just a warning: this story is not for the faint of heart. It includes fast-paced, cinematic (lol this is a story) action scenes, graphic depictions of violence, blood and gore, emotional moments, suggestive themes, suggestive humor, crude humor, dark humor, and betrayal. Also, just a couple of side notes: I will not necessarily follow Canon in my stories. I will generally utilize many of my own interpretations and headcanons for the Metroid storyline. Do not post reviews saying stuff like, "Stop no do that story no go that way stop" they will be ignored. Secondly, a cycle is approximate to a year, a subcycle is approximate to a day, and a millicycle is approximate to an hour. These are not the official Metroid date and time units, but I will continue to use my headcanon for these until the official units are released. So, without any further ado, let us begin the (updated) first chapter!**

~Lanceworth Novva. Location: Andromeda (Capital of Earth and the location of the Galactic Federation Headquarters)~

Today had been a completely normal day. Which, by the way, is something that has become quite dull after about sixteen years. Yes, I still use the old time units (even though they are only really used by seculars, who live below the clouds), but that is merely due to the fact that I see no reason to completely change the names and format of time units just because we expanded beyond the Solar System.

But, I digress. As I said, today had been a completely normal day. Nothing abnormal had happened, though…

I really wish something strange would happen, just to throw my life out of this endless cycle of daily repetition.

 _Well_ , I think to myself as I withdraw from my window and lay back onto my pillow, _just two more years of this mundane life, and I can join the Galactic Federation._

With that thought, my medicine begins to slow down my brain. I close my eyes, and the world around me fades as I fall asleep.

~Ridley. Location: Space Pirate Mothership #6298, just outside the Local Cluster~

"Captain Ridley. The systems report you requested that the technicians run before the slip-space jump to the planet Earth has been prepared and uploaded to the bridge computer for your perusal."

"Good. Enter the resting chamber with the rest of the crew and initiate sleep mode."

"Affirmative."

For many cycles, most of the beings that most galactic civilizations refer to as "Space Pirates" were sentient beings, though they are now being replaced by shells that are mass-produced by the subcycle. Many of the technicians and scientists are still the original sentients that were indoctrinated long before me, mostly because they do not engage in combat except during emergency situations - such as a perimeter breach by hostile forces or a containment breach.

The fact that a sentient being could be degraded to such a point that its only function is to follow orders without question, without delay – like a simple machine – never fails to astonish me.

I know what it's like to be empty inside, to be under _her_ control.

It all started approximately four decacycles ago. I was helping my species rebuild after The War. One day after a had completed a twelve-hour salvage mission, of which I was in charge of, I received a peculiar telepathic message beckoning me to the planet Zebes. It was there, in a chamber deep underground, that I met Mother Brain… A Chozo-designed Artificial Intelligence that had gone rampant and had begun recruiting sentient beings from around the galaxy in order to overthrow its creators and destroy them. I saw this to be pointless. Besides, I had my own issues. But, Mother Brain needed me, a being of the highest military class in my race in order to act as a commander over the indoctrinated lower-class beings of my species. She refused to take "no" for an answer.

Mother Brain possesses the unique ability to tap in to the brainwaves of other beings – sentient or not – and control them.

I was returning home when I suddenly lost control of my body. From then on, I was merely a spectator, watching as I did things I would never even fathom doing: attacking settlements, including one, which ended in defeat, but wasn't without torment for me and others. I would never attack any other being, especially not a youngling. However, that defeat turned out to be my salvation. The only survivor of any of our attacks, Samus Aran, grew up to be the top bounty hunter in the galaxy as well as my rival.

She destroyed me over and over, and each time I hoped it was the end. However, Mother Brain continued to order my reconstruction, and each time her grip on my conscience tightened ever more, smothering me. Until Samus destroyed Zebes.

Mother Brain produced an idea that she had tested with Kraid twice before. Using DNA from my saliva and her eye, she created a clone of each of us. This emergency measure could be used as a means to trick Samus into believing she had destroyed us while, in reality, we had escaped

I installed her CPU into the base on the planet Eclipse III, shortly thereafter realizing that I once again possessed my free will.

The clone's telepathy must have activated while we were still in close range of the planet, as her ability to control high-end functioning sentients was lost, and according to security camera footage that was still intact, was even transferred to the Mother Brain clone.

Soon after, Mother Brain placed me on a new assignment. My ship is en route to the planet Earth to kill the one being in the universe who possesses the ability to destroy Mother Brain – permanently.

I'm not going to kill him, obviously. When I find him, I will ensure his safety and ensure him safe passage off the planet Earth. I will then proceed to fake my death. Removing the monitoring devices implanted in my brain and a well-placed explosion or two should suffice. Approximately twelve days later, I will request his assistance.

Mother Brain will pay for the pain and suffering she has caused to myself and to many others. The computer is too dangerous to be allowed to continue to function. With Novva's assistance, I will destroy Mother Brain and free the universe from her grasp – forever.

~Third Person Narrator~

"You can't fly?"

"No. I apologize. Our species lost that ability long ago."

"Darn. I really need that bag."

"Perhaps he is afraid of you. Small creatures are fearful of us who are larger, especially if they believe we mean to harm them." The beaked humanoid kneels down to meet eyes with the child. "Why don't you attempt to begin a relationship with it? If it realizes you mean no harm, and in fact wish to be friends, it will likely leave the tree and come to you."

"Friends, like we are? But, if it doesn't speak English, how would we talk to each other?"

"Though animals may lack a conscience, they are much like me and you. They have feelings, and though they cannot speak the tongues of sentients, they can still identify voice tones and even learn certain words, if they hear them enough."

"Hmm. So, how would I start?"

"Well, why don't you talk to it in a calm, meaningful tone, introduce yourself, and even give it a name?"

"Okay. Hmmmm… Ponchi! That's your name! Ponchi!"

The squirrel stops looking through the bag and looks at the little girl.

"Hi Ponchi! I'm Samus. I'm three years old."

The squirrel crawls down from the tree and approaches her. Samus kneels down and holds out her hand as it sniffs. After a few seconds, the squirrel climbs up her arm and lays over her shoulder as she retrieves her bag.

Several moments later…

"Do you have to leave already, Grandpa Bird? We just met!"

"Yes. I apologize, but I must leave. I have s very important task to fulfill."

As he boards the ship, tears form in her eyes. Come back soon…

The little girl returns to the forest and sits on a stump. "Man," she says to Ponchi, "I wish he didn't have to go so soon." The small squirrel nibbles on her hand. "Ow!" She exclaims, giggling. "Don't eat my hand! You're hungry, aren't you?" Samus reaches into her lunch sack and pulls out a fig bar. "Here you go!" He sniffs it, then proceeds to take it from her hand and eat it rapidly. "Hahaha! Don't choke on it!" When he finishes, he attempts to find more. "I'm sorry. That was my last one. I split the others with my friends." However, the squirrel does not relent in its search for more food. It crawls into her lap, searching all of her pockets. "Hahahahahaha! Ponchi, your whiskers are tickling me!"

Their fun is interrupted by a large explosion and the emergency sirens begin to blare. "Ponchi…"

Samus stands up and turns to see a large mushroom cloud. "Let's see… It's mid-afternoon, the sun is over there… I went southeast from the settlement…" She gasps. "Come on, Ponchi! We have to go!"

The next several minutes are a blur for the little girl as she runs back to the colony. In the middle of the airfield, she spots a large purple creature.

"Hello…" She approaches it. "I'm Samus Aran. I'm three years old." The large purple dragon turns to look at her. "It's okay. I'm not afraid. You're different, but we can still be friends!" Then, silence. The two stare into each others' eyes for a moment. Then, the dragon attacks.

~Samus Aran. Location: Experimental Hunter-Class Gunship, just outside Federation system Norion~

The shrill bleeping of an alarm clock tears through my dreams. I reach up and turn it off, tears staining my eyes. Questions begin to flood my mind. Why? Why have these dreams returned to me, several cycles after the tragedy has passed on as a simple memory? Why is it that every night, I am returned to that dreadful day on K-2L, something that occurred well over thirty cycles ago?

This was an issue for several Zebesian subcycles after I had been taken to the Chozo homeworld, and they helped me to deal with them. This time, however, they cannot possibly be natural. I've been recording these dreams along with my brain activity during sleep, which is absolutely off the charts.

Every spare moment I have is spent scouring Elysia for any clues that could lead me to the last bastion of the Chozo, which could very well be outside the Milky Way galaxy. If they helped me get over these nightmares before, perhaps they could do it again.

"Is something the matter?" The computerized voice of Adam jolts me back to reality. "No…"

"Samus. Since long before you destroyed the BSL asteroid station, something has been keeping you distressed."

"What makes you think that?"

"Your behavior on the BSL station indicated that you were under extreme duress. Paranoid. Unfocused. The manner in which you spoke, when you did. Many of your actions were unnatural, for you. That, combined with the journal records from your previous ship, which the Federation took the liberty of uploading them to my mainframe. You had stated in them that since you destroyed Zebes, you were beginning to have trouble focusing. The X infestation, Metroid Vaccine, and absorbing the SA-X were three things that assisted in rectifying this issue, but only temporarily. Since the mental effect that the X and Metroid cells ceased due to them cancelling each other out, you have become progressively more distressed… You know, I am not merely a program. I have feelings, and due to the complexity of my programming, I am as close to being sentient as any program. You can tell me anything you need, and I will do whatever I can assist you in any way necessary."

As I listen to him, I am reminded of the real Adam. He was always reaching out to me, if and when the opportunity presented itself. And, like any childish modern teenager, my response was to push him away.

I recount all of the details, including the odd return of my nightmares, my brain activity recordings, as well as my shock of finding that Ridley, too, had been infected by the X. I refused – and still do - to believe that Ridley would fall to the X. _He's too resourceful to be overtaken by something like that._ , I remember thinking.

He listens to me, and when I finish, he says, "So, I was correct. You have been searching for a means to find the Chozo."

"They're out there, somewhere. I just know it. Just as I know that Ridley is not dead."

"While you were asleep, I scanned nearby systems, and would like to note that the system FS-176 contains an abundance of Chozo artifacts and information, including on Tallon IV and in the wreckage of your ship and the remains of SR388 and the BSL station.

"I would go there and scavenge, but that area is still hot with Federation ships. If they were to notice us..."

"They would annihilate us on the spot."

I leave my quarters and walk to the cockpit, which is also the location of the navigation computer and exit hatch. As I sit down, I hear a bleep from the Nav screen.

"Samus, the Federation ships are returning to the Flagship Indigo. The rest of the cruisers are entering travel formation."

"Wait. There's still many items of interest there... Why would they leave? Adam, can you scan their computers?"

"Of course. Done. With what limited data I was able to find from this range, I have determined that the fleet sent to FS-176 to scavenge for resources and information is now returning to Earth due to a rally."

"It must be something quite important," I say as the five blips on the screen disappear. "Well, it's enough information to know that they won't return for quite a while. Set a course for the planet Tallon IV.

"Yes, lady."


End file.
